Why Not Me?
by Karashi
Summary: What if Gwen had been the one beamed up with Kevin in the episode "Grudge Match"? CC's and Reviews muchly appreciated.
1. Rolling Along

**Disclaimers:**

Ben 10 and its respective characters belong to Man of Action.

**Author's Notes:**

This fic centers on the question "What if" it was Gwen and not Ben who had been beamed up with Kevin in the episode Grudge Match? Another what if I've thrown in is that Gwen already can cast spells and has Charmcaster's spell book by this time.

--

**Part One: Rolling Along**

Several light years away from planet Earth, an enormous spaceship was at a standstill. It hovered silently, the engines barely humming, as if the entire vehicle had ceased all activity. From the outside, it looked like an innocent cargo transporter was merely undergoing maintenance.

But looks can be deceiving. Indeed the ship's cavernous interior carried cargo, it was simply the _living_ kind. Housed within was an arena of massive proportions, and gathered around a rubble-filled ring were thousands upon thousands of various aliens.

Littered amongst the debris were bodies of fallen aliens. Some sported broken limbs or mandibles, some bore angry, painful bruises, and others were mauled beyond recognition. Large and small alike they lay, unconscious, unmoving. Only three figures remained standing, one was a column-shaped creature whose pink, gelatinous body allowed it to take blows and bounce the impact back to its attacker. A solitary eye blinked from within the quivering mass as it shot out a thick tendril towards a small, lithe human with bright green eyes and short, fiery tresses.

She managed to dodge, though barely, her chest rising and falling in haggard breath. Fine cuts and fading bruised were displayed where her frayed clothes revealed fair skin. She landed on her feet, knees suddenly buckling in exhaustion. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to stand despite her body's outcry for rest. In one hand she clutched a small book, while the other was raised before her, palm facing the jelly-like alien.

Heckling catcalls and whistles of support rippled throughout the audience at the small human's tenacity and surprising ability to keep alive. Tentacles, claws, fins, and fists would pump into the air as they cheered and yelled out for their desired outcome.

At that moment, the crowd was crying out for blood.

The last figure, the youth who was little more than an amalgam of mismatched creatures was more than happy to oblige. A toothy smile flashed across his lips as his fire-coated limb shot out a steady stream of flame.

The alien screeched out in horror as it felt the searing heat reach its vulnerable core. Unable to retaliate with this fiery projectile it sought to flee but found, for reasons it could not comprehend, that the ground had suddenly grown soft, wet, like quicksand. Its sole eye blinked wildly, trying to scream out its surrender.

With his flaming hand, the hulking, chimeral alien yanks his gelatinous opponent free from the murky trap. He sets it down gently but doesn't let go. The feral grin on his crimson face widened into a manic smile as the flames on his hand glow bigger, brighter, _hotter_.

An acrid smell, like melting rubber coupled with turpentine wafted into the young girl's nose. It was so strong, she could practically _feel_ the horrible odor settling on her tongue.

The once-human boy suddenly cut off his flames, allowing the creature's skin to attempt to solidify before once again burning away at it.

"Kevin, that's enough! You're going to kill him!" The small girl cried out.

With a savage glee, he responded "So, what Gwen? It's not my fault he's not strong enough to get out on his own."

Gwen got to her knees, one palm pressed against the arena floor. Under the arena's glaring lights, no one in the audience had seen the small girl's hands glow. Not when she first got there, and certainly not now. For all the spectators knew, Gwen was merely praying to whatever god her kind worshipped on their home planet.

Just as Kevin raised his fiery hand to deliver the finishing blow, the arena floor began to tremble. It was a steady hum at first, and the vibration Kevin felt in his wings caused him to stop mid-strike. His mismatched features contorted in confusion, and in his equally distorted voice gasped "What the-"

The rest of his sentence never came as the ground suddenly cracked in two. The fissure expanded, threatening to swallow him and the beaten alien. With powerful legs, he leapt to the sky and as he looked down, saw Gwen running alongside the fissure. She moved without hesitation, bright green eyes shining in grim determination as she lunged across the widening gap to push the unconscious alien to safety.

"A goody-goody until the very end." Kevin found himself grinning in amusement. That was how she ended up stuck with him on the infamous Megacruiser arena, wasn't it?


	2. Die Another Day

**Part Two: Die Another Day**

There was a dull pounding in Gwen's head, like a jackhammer had been given free reign over her skull. She forced her eyes open, seeing blades of grass dancing before her. She rose quickly, shaking off the dizziness and steadying herself against the RV her grandfather fondly nicknamed "Rust Bucket."

"Grandpa!" She gasped, seeing the elderly man lying motionless to one side. She rushed to him and gave a sigh of relief when she found he was simply unconscious.

"You're gonna pay for that!" Her cousin Ben cried, the voice a clear indication he was in his Diamondhead form. Her eyes widened as the memory of what had happened just seconds earlier surged into her mind.

The three of them, Gwen, her cousin and grandfather were driving on the highway when a fireball came at them. Max swerved out of the way, the RV skidding out of control before it crashed against a tree growing off-road. The three quickly got out of the van to inspect the damage. A large shadow loomed over head and Gwen remembered feeling a dull pain on the back of her head before darkness washed over her.

"You think you can take me, runt?" the taunting of a distorted voice roused Gwen from her reverie. She turned towards the sound and her grew saucer-wide. Not at the sight of Kevin fighting against Ben but at the flashing light coming from her cousin.

In the blink of an eye, Ben had timed out!

Luckily the only time her cousin managed to keep his wits about him was when he was fighting. He leapt out of the way, barely missing being impaled by the shards Kevin shot at him.

Gwen rushed to Ben's aid, her hands fishing in her pocket for her spell book. Kevin spat out sticky mucus in an attempt to trap Ben. He would have caught the younger boy if Gwen hadn't dived in to push her cousin out of the way.

The red-haired girl didn't like getting slimed and though she hated to admit it, Ben stood more of a chance of bringing Kevin down than she did. Rather than the viscous liquid, a bright flash of light engulfed her.

Gwen found herself landing on a rocky surface. With a groan she got up, waiting for the static buzzing in her ears to die down. When her vision cleared, her jaw dropped. She never seen so many aliens gathered in one place before.

"Hey, what gives?!" She heard Kevin growl.

"Esteemed guests, let us welcome our new challengers!" A strange, metallic voice announced.

"Ch-challengers?" Gwen echoed, getting to her feet in disbelief.

"Will they be able to survive a match against our current champion Technorg? Or will they perish, like all the others before them?"

The ground started to quake as a gigantic alien, easily twice the size of Fourarms stepped forward. Her eyes took in the armor plating his body and the massive mace where his left hand should have been.

"Prepare to meet your doom!" The large alien bellowed before charging straight at the odd pair before him.

He raised his arms for a hammer blow, which Kevin had no trouble meeting head on. Multiple limbs struggled to gain the upper hand, but this lasted but for a moment as Technorg knocked Kevin aside as if he was merely swatting a fly.

Seeing this, the icy fingers of fear gripped at Gwen like a vice. She stood, frozen, like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car. Had Kevin not suddenly tackled the behemoth, Gwen might not have had the chance to gather her bearings and run.

From a safe distance she watched as Kevin battled against Technorg and it was becoming more and more evident that Kevin was losing. Despite the older boy's attempts at Ben's life (and indirectly _hers_), Gwen understood that she had a bigger chance of surviving if Kevin won. She had to do something.

And once she managed to dig up her spell book, she did.

--

"You think you can take me, runt?" Technorg taunted as his kick caught Kevin squarely in the chest. The force knocked the dark-haired boy a good distance away, stopping only when he smashed against the arena wall.

"I ain't no runt." The dark-haired boy growled. His pride was more injured than body, considering just seconds ago he had used the very same words on his hated enemy, Ben.

"Tell you what, I'll go finish the smaller one first to give you a chance to rest." Technorg snickered, turning his massive back to Kevin.

Mismatched eyes widened in fury, nobody turned their back on Kevin Levin. _Nobody!_ With a sharp kick, Kevin propelled himself from the wall, hands clasped together to deliver a hammer blow.

He took immense satisfaction at the look of disbelief that flashed across Technorg's face before Kevin delivered a flurry of attacks. It would only be later that Kevin would realize that Technorg's _eyes_ were looking down when his expression changed from smug to shock.

Later, being the operative word.

For _now_ he was too busy using all the abilities his alien parts had to bash Technorg senseless. An uppercut using Diamondhead's arm powered by Fourarm's insane strength sent Technorg soaring into the air in an arc.

With the same hand, Kevin focused on using XLR8's speed to shoot out a wave of razor-sharp shards at his opponent. No one seemed to notice a bed of rocky-spikes were conveniently protruding where Technorg landed.

The behemoth groaned in pain and dread. He had been beaten and now he would have to pay the price. Peering through heavy lids, Technorg saw Kevin casually stroll towards him until the dark-haired mixture of alien parts was standing just a few feet away.

The crowd began to demand Kevin to punish Technorg for his defeat.

"Punishment?" He chuckled with a predatory smile. "What kind?"

The arena exploded into a collective yell for "DEATH!"

Only one voice, one small, delicate voice yelled out "No!"

Kevin looked down to find Gwen standing between him and Technorg. Her arms were raised at her sides as if trying to shield the fallen alien.

"Out of the way, girl." Kevin warned, eyes narrowing.

"You don't have to do this." She reasoned.

"Y-yes, he does." Technorg rasped from behind her. "I have been bested, it is the price I must pay."

"Typical." She snorted, as if not surprised. "Why is it that guys never think that _losing_ today means you still have another shot at winning tomorrow? Or that d_ying_ today means you're a loser forever?"

Kevin stared directly into Gwen's eyes. Those stubborn, soul-piercing green eyes that showed no indication she was going to back down.

"And why shouldn't I end him?" Kevin demanded.

"Because then..." Gwen swallowed, obviously carefully weighing her words. "Because then you really _would_ be the monster people said you were."

Was she really trying to appeal to him with such a cheesy line that could have come straight out of a B movie? If what she said hadn't been so painfully lame he would have laughed. It would be easy to just backhand her aside so he could finish off Technorg. He probably wouldn't even feel his hand connect with her skin.

He mulled over his decision. And then he saw it.

The minute quake of her knees that lasted no longer than a second, but he saw it. She was scared, probably terrified that he could, _would_ hurt her. Or kill her the way he would Technorg.

She had to be crazy to try and save anyone but herself. And yet here she was, pleading for the large alien's life. The very same alien that was just moments ago planning to end hers without a second thought.

It wasn't fair.

It just wasn't. If Ben or Technorg could have someone who would risk their life for them, why couldn't _he_ have someone like that?

With a grunt of suppressed rage and bitterness, Kevin turned his back to Gwen. "Whatever. Just don't blame me if he tries to kill you again." And he stalked away.

Before the dark-haired boy took more than five steps, several robots carrying weapons rolled into the arena. They surrounded Kevin, prodding him with rods that crackled with energy upon contact. He cried out in pain as he briefly lost control of his limbs. Heavy, power-draining shackles were clamped around his multiple wrists before the robots forcibly led him away.

Kevin heard a voice, a small delicate voice angrily yelling "Hey! What did you do to him!? Where are you taking him?!"

He glanced over his shoulder and saw Gwen, struggling to get past a robot. She was reaching out for Kevin, as if she could somehow save him the way she had Technorg. He saw her lips moving but she made no sound until the droid pressed the rod against her flesh. She let out a shriek before the pain caused her to pass out.

Kevin didn't know why but hearing her scream, seeing her hurt enraged him more than anything ever had before. He roared and struck out at a droid, using his cuffs to bash its mechanical head in. The rods descended upon him mere seconds before the darkness did.


	3. Capitalize

**Part Three: Capitalize**

She hurt. _Everywhere_. Every muscle, every fiber, every cell in her body screamed in agony if Gwen so much as breathed too deeply. She was lying on a small cot within a room that smelled of grease and tar. If she could open her eyes without feeling a million white hot needles jabbing at every inch of her skin, she would have seen the strange figure hovering beside her still form.

"The effects of the neural-staff should be wearing off soon." The same metallic voice stated. "You're quite lucky to have survived that match. Though I suppose that's the only thing that has kept your species alive all these eons. Given how delicate you humans are."

As the minutes passed, Gwen's body gradually regained its normal sensitivity.

"To be quite honest I am highly disappointed that I ended up beaming a human, a juvenile one at that, instead of the Petrosapien."

_He's talking about Ben!_ Gwen realized.

"You humans make for very poor gladiators. You barely pass as an entertaining opening act." The figure chattered, "Dying so quickly and so easily, my audience doesn't pay to see that. It's a good thing I happen to have some customers who would be willing to pay handsomely for exotic pets."

By now Gwen was back to normal and at the mention of the word "pets" her eyes flew open in indignity. "Ex_cuse_ me? Who do you think you are? Humans are capable of a lot of things so we don't need to be super-mega-huge or ultra-mondo-strong!"

"I am certain I'm Slix Vigma, entertainer and owner of the Megacruiser arena. You humans are so proud, of what I haven't the slightest idea. Though I suppose I could use you as a sort of challenge for the next match..." A slender finger tapped at his head producing and metallic ringing. "It's brilliant! Excuse me, I must make the necessary arrangements."

"What? Wait!" Gwen reached out to grab Slix but her fingers only grasped empty air. It was only now when she was alone in a strange room did it dawn upon her that she might never get back home.

No, no, that couldn't be true could it? Her grandpa Max and cousin Ben must be doing everything they can to look for her, right?

_Right?_

Tears welled up in her eyes as she fought to blink them back. She wasn't going to cry, if she did she was admitting defeat. If she cried, it meant she was still a liability and therefore only excess baggage. If she cried, it meant she couldn't take care of herself and still needed saving. If she cried, it meant she was just as useless now with magic as she had been without it.

Wait, she could use magic! There must be a spell somewhere that would allow her to travel through space or at least send out a message to her family. She reached into her pocket only to be disappointed that her spell book wasn't there.

Slix must have taken it from her after that fight in the arena. She'll have to get it back then. The first thing she needed to do was get out of this room.

But before she could so much as stand, the door swung open and two robots entered. They were unarmed, much to Gwen's relief. She didn't want to take another hit from those neural-staffs. The robots positioned Gwen between them and practically carried her out.

"Where are you taking me?" She asked them and was met only with silence.

They brought her to another room that resembled the first one, only this one had a grate of sorts on one wall. The holes were big enough to let Gwen slip her hand through to reach the other side, but there was no way in hell would she even _think_ about it.

For the other side of the grate was the holding bay for the gladiators.

One of the robots' chest panel opened up to reveal a monitor displaying Slix. "Don't get too comfortable to your new quarters. You won't be in here for long. You get one last meal and one favor. So long as it's not the ridiculous request of being allowed to go home or being freed, I will see that it is granted."

Though words last meal did not sit well with Gwen, but at least she could get her spell book back. "I'd like my book back."

"Is that all? Consider it done. You'll have your bound sheets of compacted fiber with ink printed on it along with your meal."

The robots unceremoniously dropped Gwen onto the cot before exiting, locking the door behind them. Now all she had to do was wait and she'd be on her way home. Everything would be all right.

_Right?_

What about Kevin?

Part of Gwen blamed him for getting her into this mess. If he hadn't shown up, Ben wouldn't have fought him. And if Ben hadn't fought him, he wouldn't have timed out. And if Ben hadn't timed out, she wouldn't have had to push him out of the way. It was all Kevin's fault! She should just leave him behind!

But another part of her couldn't really bring herself to blame him. From what Ben had told her, it sounded like Kevin had a really hard life. She couldn't imagine being abandoned. Forced to grow up on the streets. Alone. Shunned and feared and called a freak. And when he finally found a kindred spirit, he would end up trapped inside a monster's body.

She could see why he chose to reject their offer of joining them. If all you've ever known about life was cruelty and prejudice, you'd be wary of kindness, distrustful of hope. What more the unspeakably alien concept of love?

She knew she would if their positions were reversed.

Gwen didn't feel sorry for him. No, it was much deeper than mere pity. Her heart _broke_ for him. The more she thought about it, the more she couldn't bring herself to blame him. And before she realized it, her cheeks were wet with tears.

"Did they hurt you?" Someone asked.

Without thinking she whispered back "Not as much as they must have hurt you."

--

He was bored. Bored of sitting around this wretched prison they referred to as the holding bay. Bored of having nothing to do unless he wanted to get zapped by those blasted rods the guard droids toted around. He hated it. Being bored would lead to his mind wandering and it would inevitably lead to thinking about Gwen.

Kevin didn't want to think about her, because whenever he did he'd always see the vivid vision of her in pain. For some strange, unknown, undeniable reason, whenever he saw that horrible image, _he_ hurt. The pain was in no particular spot but it was there, _somewhere_.

The door to the prison swinging open was a welcomed distraction. Even if it was just several droids ushering in a patched up Technorg. Kevin didn't so much as bat an eye when the aforementioned alien marched up to him. The dark-haired youth fixed his gaze on the wall directly in front of him.

"'Sup, _loser_." He greeted, emphasizing the word with sadistic glee. His razor-tooth smile widened when he heard the large alien's shackles rattle.

"I wish to ask you a question." It was an order, not a request.

Coolly, Kevin canted his head at Technorg. "Sorry, not interested in you being my bitch."

The derogatory word obviously meant nothing to the behemoth as he proceeded to ask "What is your relation with the small one?"

That was certainly not what Kevin expected to hear. He quirked the only brow he possessed, "What's it to you?"

Technorg didn't respond and instead left to brood in a corner.

Again the boredom returned and Kevin soon found his thoughts wandering. This time it was about the fight. Specifically the direction of Technorg's eyes when Kevin had attacked from behind. Why would the large alien be looking _down_? His sneak attack came from above, there was no way Technorg was staring at Kevin's shadow.

Something was going on with the ground, but what? The dark-haired boy marched over to the larger alien's corner.

"Hey, loser, I'll tell you what my relation to the "small one" is and you answer a question of mine." It was an order, not a request.

"Proceed." Technorg nodded.

"She's just the cousin of the guy I want to kill." He stated, it was true but not the entire truth. In his defense, he wasn't entirely sure what she was to him. "My turn. When you were about to go and kill her, you suddenly looked surprised and was looking down. Was there something weird about the ground?"

"I would not call it weird, but yes. There was something amiss. It had become unusually soft and I could not move away."

"That's _it_?!" That didn't explain much.

A door opening was heard and Kevin turned towards the noise. Strange, the door to the holding bay was still shut. It took the light filtering in from the grate on the opposite end of the prison to discover the source.

Why would anyone be kept separate? It could have been curiosity that made Kevin approach the grate, but he'd say it was because he was bored. Either way, he was soon close enough to hear a voice. _Her_ voice.

He kept his silence until the droids left her alone.

Darkness washed over the room and Kevin found himself content to simply watch her. He stared intently, seeing first the inexplicably brave face from earlier. Then her look softened into worry, concern. He could see a strange kind of anguish in her eyes and again, he hurt.

His fists clenched when he saw a solitary tear trickle down her cheek. Followed by another. Then another. Until twin streams dampened her cheeks.

At this, he asked "Did they hurt you?"

She replied without the slightest trace of hesitation. "Not as much as they must have hurt you."

And at _this_, Kevin vowed someone had to pay.


	4. Move Along

**Author's Notes:**

I had the hardest time writing this part excuse all the glaring plot holes.

**Part Four: Move Along**

When Gwen's eyes finally adjusted to the darkness she realized there was a figure standing by the grate. From the awkward shape, Gwen could tell it was Kevin. How long had he been standing there? Had he been staring at her? Was that grate strong enough to keep him from getting to her?

"K-Kevin?" she stammered, remaining in place. Her heart may go out to him, but she was still scared of him. Of what he was capable of.

"It's Gwen, right?" He murmured, his voice unusually gentle.

"Y-yes."

"Could you answer me something?" Thick, furred fingers rested on the grate.

"Depends. What is it?"

"I get that you goody-goody types would save your own family, but why would you try to save someone like Technorg?" _Or me, for that matter._

Gwen frowned, a little offended at being called a goody-goody. She huffed, "It's only natural for us goody-goodies to save people no matter who they are."

"So those you save aren't all that special to you."

Tilting her head, Gwen looked at Kevin curiously. His form was different from a human, making it impossible to use the same tell-tale signs she must be making. But he was still human. _Some_ things shouldn't be too different, should it?

She noticed how his mouth was pressed into a grim line, the way the shoulder of his top pair of arms drooped and his inability to meet her gaze with any of his three eyes. Gwen had no idea why Kevin seemed, well for lack of a better word, disappointed by her answer.

"Not necessarily." She ventured. She spied his eyes taper questioningly and continued "Sometimes the ones we save aren't special to us at that moment, but they might eventually become special to us."

It was Kevin's turn to observe Gwen. He noticed she her knees pulled up to her chest, the way her hand absently tugged at the hem of her shirt, and that she was avoiding his gaze. She was trying to make herself appear smaller. She was scared of him but was trying her best not to let it show.

The dark-haired boy found it amusing.

"Does that answer your question?" Gwen chirped with a tilt of her head.

"It'll do." He grunted, leaning against the grate.

--

From a small slot on the bottom of her cell door slid a tray filled with a runny, gray mass. Entering promptly after it was the spell book.

Gwen brightened considerably as she retrieved the small tome.

"What's so special about that book?"

"Oh, it just might get us home." She grinned, sitting back down on the cot to scan the pages.

Kevin blinked. Did she just say _us?_ "You got a plan?"

"Maybe. I have to make sure of some things first." Gwen didn't sound as confident as she would have liked. Especially since she realized she had unwittingly included Kevin in the equation.

"And you actually think it'll work?" Kevin sounded more than just skeptical, arms folded across his chest.

"If it doesn't, there's always Plan B." Gwen carefully kept her eyes fixed on the spell book. After all, until that moment, she didn't think she'd _need_ a Plan B.

"Small one," a gruff voice cut in. The young girl looked up to find a large silhouette appear beside Kevin. It was Technorg. "You should know why you're being kept separate from the rest of the gladiators."

"I thought it was because Slix thinks I'm too _delicate_ to be a gladiator." She snorted.

"That may be the case," The large alien ignored the indignant glare Gwen shot him. "Since the only time Slix keeps anyone in there is if he wants them alive for the next match."

The young girl didn't think she liked where this conversation was going.

"When the mood strikes him, Slix offers a prize for the gladiator who meets certain conditions. It varies from being the last one standing, or killing the most number of opponents."

"So what does that mean, exactly?" The young girl was _sure_ she didn't like where this conversation was going.

"The only thing I know for certain is you will be in danger. But for saving my life, I am honor-bound to serve you. And that entails keeping you safe." The behemoth explained.

This didn't sit well with the young girl, "As cool as it is that you're willing to do all that, Technorg, this arrangement sounds a little too much like slavery for me. I saved you because it was the right thing to do."

The large alien shook his head and lumbered off to brood in a corner.

Kevin snorted, mismatched eyes peering at Gwen. "Well someone's self-righteous."

"I thought the term was "Goody-goody"?" Gwen retorted, once again scanning her spell book. She'd have to find that teleportation spell and fast! But even if she did find it there was no guarantee she'd be able to master it in one sitting. After all, if it was such a simple spell, wouldn't Charmcaster or her uncle Hex use it all the time?

To her dismay, the spell indeed was far more complicated than expected and required ingredients she had never heard of before.

"Looks like I'll have to come up with Plan B after all." She sighed, resting the small book on her lap.

_Think, Gwen,_ _think_. Her mind ordered. _You're on a spaceship. Didn't those spaceships on all the sci-fi cartoons Ben watched usually have escape pods?_

Even if there were escape pods, how would she be able to navigate it back to Earth? She didn't even know where she was in the vast universe. So many missing pieces, so many variables to account for, so many things she didn't know or couldn't figure out.

A cry of frustration escaped her lips, "Why can't I come up Plan B?"

"Maybe it's 'cuz _my_ plan would work better?" Gwen heard, rather than saw the smug arrogance displayed across Kevin's features.

"Right, I'm supposed to trust _you_, the guy who keeps trying to kill my cousin." She remarked with a roll of her eyes.

"Hey, a few minutes ago you were willing to trust me in your first plan."

He had a point. She was planning on taking Kevin with her. As much of a threat Kevin proved to be back home, the red-haired girl couldn't bring herself to leave a fellow human being behind. Reluctantly, Gwen agreed to hear out the misshapen youth's idea.


	5. I Predict A Riot

**Author's Notes:**

Like Part Four, I had a hard time writing this. Action scenes break my brain (and quite possibly my reader's).

--

**Part Five: I Predict A Riot**

Kevin had suggested the female Tennyson reveal her powers in the upcoming match. This might interest Slix enough to personally visit her the way he did when they first arrived. If that ever happened, well, she was to take him hostage or blast his head off.

"Or whatever you feel like doing." He shrugged when Gwen shot him a look of indignation.

Either way, they'd be able to take control of the ship.

"This plan is _so_ not going to work!" Gwen groaned inwardly as the droids escorted her out of the cell. She was pushed roughly into a caged platform that slowly rose into the stadium.

"Esteemed guests, I have something very special planned for you tonight." Slix's oily voice boomed over the speakers. "Our former champion Technorg is disqualified from participating as punishment, having been bested by our new champion!"

Cheers erupted from the stands as Kevin entered, confident and arrogant as always. "But that's now what makes tonight so special. We all know how hard our gladiators fight to stay alive so why not reward them a little bit?"

Following shortly after Kevin were the rest of the gladiators, wary about what Slix meant by reward.

"Here, we have a little treat for our gladiators: A juvenile human, known to be a delicacy to many races and as an exotic pet to others."

A spotlight flashed over Gwen and the audience let out a collective "Ooh" of appreciation.

"The first gladiator to reach the human gets to keep this little prize. To do with whatever he wishes. Now doesn't that sound appealing?"

At this, the shackles and restraints on the gladiators were removed.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me!" Gwen yelled out in disgust.

"Oh but that's not all. Following the rules of Last One Standing, the champion of the tournament gets to go back _home_."

A shriek from an alien impaled by Kevin's petrosapian hand signaled the start of the match. Instantly the gladiators turned on each other, any camaraderie they've shared forgotten, friendships and alliances dissolved for the prize of being able to go home.

Some of the fighters opted to briefly band together to take on Kevin, the biggest obstacle to their freedom.

The dark-haired boy seemed far more pleased than worried at his situation. "Come on! I can take you all on!" he roared, blocking the jab of a mastodon-like creature's tusks before snapping the bone in half.

But as powerful as Kevin was, he would soon be overwhelmed by their numbers. They piled onto him, stabbing, slashing, trying to draw blood or maim him. Kevin did his best to retaliate but still the blows descended and he knew he couldn't keep this up much longer.

_Damn it,_ he growled, _I'm not going to lose here! _

Above the battle cries and sounds of clashing metal, he heard someone calling him. "Kevin! Kevin, are you alright? Answer me!"

"A little _busy_ here!" He snarled from beneath the heap of bodies. He was too focused on keeping himself from getting skewered or bludgeoned by whatever weapon or limb the other gladiators possessed.

As were the rest of the warriors.

Only the audience was witness to the small girl escaping her cage when one of its walls just decided to melt off. Gasps swelled in the stands as the spectators watched in utter amazement as a cyclone formed in the arena with a mere wave of the human's hand.

Another wave and the twister sucked in several gladiators to deposit them roughly into the stands.

The fighting aliens realized that Gwen herself could prove to be a threat and made a dash for the young girl. But they'd find themselves being pulled in by the ground or having it shoot up from beneath their feet.

When Kevin managed to get his bearings, he charged after the others. The look of fury on his face sent a shiver down Gwen's spine. The female Tennyson didn't understand why he was looking so angrily at _her_ of all people. She was only trying to help him while sticking to the plan.

_He's probably mad that I had to help him. Typical guy machismo._ She frowned.

Indeed it was partly wounded pride that made Kevin's blood boil. He wasn't strong enough to handle things by himself and had needed her help. But what truly flamed his temper was that Gwen using her powers was meant to just be a surprise.

That was it. Nothing big, nothing that could be seen as a liability or anything anyone could consider a threat.

She was now in so much danger because she had tried to help _him_.

He charged past the others but not without throwing a punch or two from behind. He scooped her into his furred arms, absently noting how light she was and how easily she fit against his massive chest.

"What the hell were you thinking?" He snarled, pyronite arm outreaching to blast a jet of flames at the approaching enemies.

"Sticking to the plan? _Duh._" She rolled her eyes, "You said to show my stuff, so I did. And I saved your sorry butt in the process."

"Making them realize you can kill them _wasn't_ part of the plan." He snapped, leaping into the air to narrowly avoid a flurry of strikes.

"But I wasn't going to kill them." She reasoned.

"As if _they_ would know. And I thought Ben was the dumb one."

"I am not dumb!" Her own temper flared, Kevin had hit a nerve with that comment.

"And it looks like our champion has claimed the human!" Slix's voice declared. "But who shall emerge victorious?"

"You just stay out of my way. I'll take care of the rest." Kevin instructed as he lowered Gwen on the other side of the ring.

"What? No way! You saw me out there! I can help you win this thing and then we could just get back home without needing to get to Slix."

Kevin would hear none of it, "Just shut up and stay put!" he barked before charging at the oncoming opponents.

The young girl was not about to sit idly by, not when this opportunity presented itself. Using a combination of brute force and magical assistance, the two earthlings managed to whittle down the number of their opponents.

Until, at last, only three figures remained.

The earthquake Gwen summoned assured the gelatinous alien's life as she leapt across the widening crevice to push the fallen gladiator to safety.

"Ugh, this goop is worse than Stinkfly's." Gwen gagged, wiping away as much of the alien's viscous body as she could.

"You didn't have to save him, you know." Kevin gruffly muttered, landing behind her.

"I wouldn't have to save him if you just eased up. He had surrendered."

As the two bickered, guard droids rolled in to herd the fallen gladiators back to the holding bay, while others appeared to repair the ring.

"Whatever, hey Slix! I've won, now send me back home!" Kevin bellowed.

"Ah but that was simply the qualifying round." The cloaked figure of Slix teleported into the arena. "The actual tournament starts _now_."

The owner of the Megacruiser undid his cloak to reveal his true form as a sentient machine. "To get home, you must simply defeat me. Simple, isn't it?"

"This is too easy. I can take you on in my sleep." Kevin laughed.

"We shall see." Slix would have smirked if he was capable of facial expression. Panels in his body lit up and the wall behind Kevin suddenly shot out at him.

"Kevin!" Gwen screamed, racing off after the older boy. A tri-pronged claw painfully clamped down on her arm and drew her against Slix's cold body.

"I was never aware you humans were capable of such things. It's a pleasant surprise, if I might add."

"Oh so _now_ you respect me?" Gwen snapped, struggling to free herself. If she only knew about Slix's trick, she wouldn't have cast so many spells before. She could barely stand as it is, let alone summon the energy to free herself.

"No, I just see potential to draw an ever bigger crowd with you. If I weren't such an _honest_ business man, I'd revoke you as the champion's prize and have you as one of my new gladiators."

Another panel glowed on Slix's, and a wave of guard droids rolled in, each carrying a neural-staff.

"But since I am true to my word, I must dispose of the current champion in order to keep you." Slix explained, tightening his hold on Gwen's slender arm.

The young girl grit her teeth, refusing to cry out in pain.

"Those neural-staffs are only meant to stun," Slix motioned with his other mechanical arm as the droids began to stab at Kevin, "But if enough of them are applied at once, they can completely shut down a creature's bodily functions.

"For example: Breathing."

"You wouldn't dare!" Gwen gasped, eyes wide in horror as she watched Kevin battle against the robot guards.

Gwen was not the only one exhausted, she could see Kevin's speed dying down and his strikes weren't as strong or accurate. The first of the rods caught him from behind, before another and another and another joined the fray.

Tears stung at the young girl's eyes as she watched helplessly. _This is all my fault,_ she realized, _Slix is going to kill Kevin because of me._

"It's quite a shame, really. He was such fun to watch. The audience said so in their review forms." Slix cackled, or a machine's equivalent of a cackle.

And at that, Gwen snapped.

With her palm facing Slix, the young girl summoned every last ounce of strength she could and cast a spell directly into the sentient machine's body.

Several light years away from planet Earth, the enormous Megacruiser was at a standstill. It hovered silently, the engines barely humming, as if the entire vehicle had ceased all activity. From the outside, it looked like an innocent cargo transporter was merely undergoing maintenance.

This peaceful illusion was shattered when the hull of the ship exploded.


	6. Epilogue: For Now

**Author's Notes:**

If you stumble across this fic on deviantart, don't be surprised because I posted it there before uploading it here on .

Thanks for making it this far into the fic Hope you liked it. Reviews and Constructive Criticisms are more than welcomed.

--

**Epilogue: For Now**

A smoking wreckage lay where the Megacruiser's gladiator arena had been. Half the audience stand had been obliterated, reduced to little more than rubble. The remaining seats were empty, devoid of spectators as those that did not initially perish scrambled to flee into the teleportation room.

Shrapnel was imbedded in nearly every surface, the ceiling, the remaining arena walls and a massive mountain made of solid crystal. Sheltered behind this towering structure were two figures as far apart in appearance and personality as possible. The smaller one of the pair was a young, human girl who had caused a large portion of this once grand source of entertainment to explode. She was standing behind the larger of the two who, despite his current appearance, was a fellow human.

"Well? Can you get the ship working again?" Gwen asked, trying to peer over the hulking boy's shoulder.

"Yeah, but a lot of it is toast." He nodded, though the disappointment in his voice was unmistakable.

"Can it get us back home?" The red-haired girl pressed, chewing on her bottom lip.

"It'll take a while, but yeah we'll get back home."

Gwen sighed in relief, "Think you can maybe fix the communicators on this thing? I'd like to be able to let Grandpa and Ben know-"

"I can't." He replied a bit too hastily. "Those were the first things to go when you zapped Slix. Not to mention the remaining escape pods are out of order _and_ the teleporters are fried beyond repair."

"Great, is there anything that's working?"

"The engine's working, so is the cloaking device and the living quarters of the ship looks fine."

"At least we won't have to sleep in the holding bay." She shrugged mid-yawn. The fatigue and exhaustion finally catching up to her. The last of her strength gave out and her knees buckled. Pride forced Gwen to declare she just tripped as she was about to sit down beside Kevin.

With heavy-lidded eyes, she watched him work. Every so often she'd doze off, her head eventually resting against Kevin's shoulder. The instance her skin felt fur she'd sit back up, cheeks bright crimson and rambling with apologies.

"You should go get some sleep. I really don't need your help with this." Kevin smirked.

Stubbornly, Gwen shook her head. "I know that. I just," she trailed off, still looking embarrassed. "I just thought you might want some company."

The older boy looked at her blankly before lifting Gwen into his arms. This time more aware of how delicate and small she was. And especially how well she conformed to his own mismatched body.

"Wait! Kevin! What are you doing?!" She gasped, limbs flailing.

With one hand carrying the gutted remnants of Slix, Kevin carefully cradled the struggling girl with his remaining arms. "I can't concentrate with you interrupting me every five minutes with your apologies. So I'm going to the living quarters to work there."

Gwen stared up at him, the apples of her cheeks blossoming pink. "You, you don't have to carry me. I can walk fine on my own."

"Right. And I'm supposed to believe you just tripped while sitting down. How does _that_ even work?" He snickered.

"Okay, fine! My legs gave out earlier but they're working now!"

"You walk too slow."

"How would you know? I've only been running like crazy this whole time."

"That wasn't running." He scoffed, "_This_ is running." And in that instant he charged down the hallway.

Gwen cried out in alarm, arms winding tightly around Kevin's neck in surprise at the burst of speed.

He skidded to halt once they got to the living quarters. "See? I told you, you walk too slow." He smirked before carefully setting her down on a bed.

"If I weren't so tired I'd blast that grin off your face." Gwen narrowed her eyes, barely able to suppress a yawn.

"Yeah, yeah, you can use magic strong enough to shut down a cruiser. Which, by the way, _I_ end up having to fix."

But Gwen wasn't listening anymore as sleep finally managed to claim her. Kevin just stood there, watching the gentle rise and fall of her chest. He brushed a stray strand of hair away from her closed lids.

When she didn't so much as flinch, the older boy allowed a wicked glee to flash across his face.

Gwen didn't suspect a thing.

The escape pods were operational, he had shut them down. The communications were working, he shut those down too. As for the teleporters, well, he _destroyed_ those.

He wasn't planning on stranding her there. Far from it. He still wanted to go home. After all he still had a score to settle with Ben.

But out here in space, things were different. Out here, he could use his powers unchecked. Out here, he didn't have to worry about hiding or keeping himself out of sight. Out here, he had Gwen.

Out here, Gwen trusted him, cared about him. And if he were to take Slix's promise seriously, Gwen _belonged_ to him. There were few things he could really call his own. And for as long as he could, he wanted to call the lithe, delicate girl sleeping in the bed his.

Leaning over her, he softly whispered, "Don't worry, I always take care of what is mine."


End file.
